Drugs seizures up in Limavady

Police in Limavady have made drugs seizures worth approximately a quarter of a million pounds this year to date; with the latest netting an estimated £27,000 worth of cannabis.

PSNI Area Commander, Chief Inspector Sam Donaldson revealed drug seizures are up by 80 per cent in Limavady this year, and said the success – the work of local Crime Team officers – is helped by better, and more specific information from the public about drugs activity.

“I keep saying this, it’s about getting the right information from the public, specific information, not just ‘such and such a person is dealing drugs’, but that ‘such a person has just left the area in a car with drugs on board’; information like that. If I can continue to get that type of information we will continue to get the rewards we are getting,” said Chief Insp. Donaldson, “and these kind of successes. People should not underestimate just how useful that is.

“While we still value the more general information, that more specific information, for instance about people frequenting the house at certain times of the day, is absolutely fantastic – and a great credit to the public that they are providing us with that information.”

Some of the major seizures this year included almost £100,000 worth of cocaine and cannabis in the Glens area at the start of the year, while on Tuesday night £27,000 of cannabis was seized from a car stopped in Ballykelly.

“We must be looking at a quarter of a million pounds worth of drugs to date and it’s all coming from good information from the public and officers’ work,” said Chief Insp. Donaldson. “It’s my belief that confidence in the police doesn’t come from putting leaflets through letter boxes and telling people ‘you’re not safe in your home’. It’s about telling the local officer you know that, say drugs are being sold from that house, or counterfeit DVDs are being sold, or there’s a strange car leaving that house at strange times – that’s proper neighbourhood policing.”

Mr. Donaldson said police will continue to target drug dealers and those involved in drugs activity.

“We are catching the dealers and, yes, the big dealers are being caught,” he said.